Choose the odd one out: Which of the following is not a recommended safety measure before reversing a vehicle?
- Switch off the radio or phone
- Tell the operator in advance ✓
- Roll down the windows
- Blow the horn
Answer: B. Tell the operator in advance
Telling the operator in advance is not one of the safety measures the handbook lists before reversing.
Why this is the answer
The backing section sets out a short routine to follow before you reverse: silence the phone and radio, lower the windows, put on the four-way flashers and sound the horn. It then tells you to get out and walk around the area you will back into, checking for overhead wires, side clearances and pedestrians, and to use both mirrors. Notifying an operator beforehand appears nowhere in that routine, so it is the item that does not belong with the others.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Switch off the radio or phone — Switching off the phone or radio is named in the handbook as part of the pre-backing routine, so it belongs with the other measures.
- C. Roll down the windows — Opening the windows is listed alongside the flashers and horn as something to do before you start backing.
- D. Blow the horn — Sounding the horn is one of the steps the handbook gives for backing, not the odd one out.
Remember it
Memorize the pre-backing list as a chain: phone and radio off, windows down, flashers on, horn sounded. Anything outside that chain is the odd one out.
Official handbook: Official MTO Truck Handbook, Backing